Jordan Strong

Jordan Strong (1749-), born Akinbode, was a member of the Queen's Rangers of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War.

Biography
Akinbode was born in 1749 to the Maasai tribe of Kenya, and he was born a free man. However, he was later enslaved by Great Britain and sold to the household of Selah Strong and Anna Strong in Setauket, Long Island, and he was given the enslaved name of "Jordan". He worked with the Strong family for several years, but in 1776 he was freed from the Strong family by the Dunmore Proclamation, although he was forced to serve in the British Army to fight for his freedom. Strong served as a laborer in New York until he got into an argument with Captain Titus, a black member of the Queen's Rangers. Strong broke his rake in half and used two sticks to fight against Titus and another Queen's Ranger, and he showed his Maasai fighting techniques. Robert Rogers, commander of the Queen's Rangers, had his men stop attacking Jordan and asked him to show him his moves with the two sticks. Strong said that only Maasai warriors could learn the tricks, and Rogers decided to settle the rivalry by having Jordan and Titus fight in front of the rangers. The rangers bet on opposing fighters, and Strong would use his melee techniques to defeat Titus; Rogers decided to allow him into the Queen's Rangers as a result.